Chapter 849: Ilcheonkyo.

“Young Master Gu-!”

Dokwang let out a cry, his eyes widening like saucers. It was because of Gu Yangcheon, who had suddenly collapsed.

He hadn’t just collapsed, either.

“Kuhuhuk…!”

Tudududuk-!

Gu Yangcheon, lying prone, was spewing blood from his mouth.

And it was a dark color, so much so that it looked black at first glance.

“Oh no…!”

Judging by the look of it, this was no ordinary condition.

Dokwang frowned as he examined Gu Yangcheon.

“Young Master Gu. Are you alright…!”

He stopped mid-sentence and shut his mouth. Dokwang’s gaze fell upon Gu Yangcheon’s physical state.

As soon as he confirmed it, he bit his lip.

‘This is bad.’

Just moments ago, he was merely flickering, but now his condition was terrible.

His internal energy wasn’t just fluctuating.

The rampaging energy moved roughly, as if intending to shatter his meridians. It was uncontrollably violent.

As if unable to control it, the energy seemed intent on ruining everything.

“Kkeueo…heoeok…!”

Gu Yangcheon, also seemingly in pain, let out a groan with his blood-stained face.

It was unimaginable how much pain his body must be enduring with that level of rampage.

Perhaps it felt like thousands of thorns dancing within his meridians?

However, Dokwang could do nothing while watching Gu Yangcheon like that.

Such berserk energy couldn’t be easily touched. If handled incorrectly, it could lead to internal injury. Not just the opponent, but if he couldn’t control the energy, he himself would get caught up in it.

And just leaving him until the energy calmed down? That was also impossible.

‘At this rate, his energy might explode any moment.’

Handle it wrong and it’s internal injury. Leave him be and his body explodes from the energy.

Either way, the outcome was despair.

‘Damn it.’

There was no time. There wasn’t even enough time to properly consider. No, rendering deliberation pointless, there was only one method anyway.

He had to touch it. He had to control that energy somehow. The problem was…

‘Does he have the confidence to touch and control that energy?’

Dokwang himself wasn’t confident about it.

Touching it might cause him to suffer internal injury as well. This was Dokwang’s conviction.

Should he leave it be then? If that were the case, wouldn’t it be better to go out and fetch a physician?

Reason told Dokwang so, but…

“Don’t move.”

As if mocking such thoughts, Dokwang’s hand was already reaching out towards Gu Yangcheon.

He had to save him. For his daughter’s sake. If not that, then for the future of the current Central Plains.

This young man had to be saved.

No matter how much he disliked Gu Yangcheon, he couldn’t stand seeing this brilliant talent disappear before his eyes.

That was the choice made by Dangcheon Gi, the head of the Tang family, not the Poison King.

He decided to first grab and soothe the energy. The moment Dangcheon Gi approached Gu Yangcheon with that intention…

Hwak-!

“…!?”

Dangcheon Gi had to stop in his tracks for a moment. It was because Gu Yangcheon, who couldn’t even move and was groaning, raised a hand towards the approaching Dangcheon Gi.

“Young Master Gu…? Why…”

“…Don’t…come…. Kkuhluk!”

He stopped mid-sentence and vomited dark blood. Even though he looked extremely dangerous, why was he stopping him?

Could it be?

‘Is he planning to die like this?’

Was he perhaps trying to die like this, fearing that Dokwang might interfere and get caught up in it?

At the fleeting, sharp thought, Dangcheon Gi moved even more urgently.

“Stop having strange thoughts and stay still! I am Dokwang. I’m not the type to lose to something like this.”

Although he felt anxiety inwardly, Dangcheon Gi ignored it. It was time to bolster his confidence, even if it had to be fabricated.

“Just trust me and stay still. I will definitely save you.”

Dangcheon Gi moved again, ignoring Gu Yangcheon’s words, but…

“Ah…! Just stay still, I told you…! Kkuhluk!”

Seeing that, Gu Yangcheon yelled out. Due to the recoil, he vomited a mouthful of blood.

“What the…?”

Dangcheon Gi was bewildered, wondering why Gu Yangcheon was trying so hard to stop him, but…

An even more astonishing event occurred immediately after.

Puuk-!

“Heop!?”

Gu Yangcheon suddenly spread all five fingers and thrust the tips into his own chest.

Zureureuk-! The blood flowing from his chest soaked his martial arts uniform and dripped onto the floor.

Dokwang gaped at the sudden action. At that moment…

Seueueueueeu-!!!

“Kkeueueueueueuk!!!”

Starting from the hand that was thrust in, the energy began to move.

“This is unbelievable….”

Seeing that, Dokwang could only exhale sharply in disbelief. He wondered what on earth that action was, but surprisingly, it affected the energy.

The hand Gu Yangcheon thrust into his chest made direct contact with his internal energy. Using that, he began to control the berserk energy.

Normally, once energy starts rampaging like that, one cannot control it. Not only can you not grasp it, but even if you try to grasp it…

‘It entails unbearable pain.’

Gu Yangcheon’s situation right now was even more so. It was impossible to even imagine how painful it must be…

‘And he’s enduring that to control it himself?’

In such a situation, Gu Yangcheon was controlling the energy himself. Just by the bulging veins on his body, one could vaguely feel how difficult it was for him.

Moreover, besides the pain…

‘What kind of control is this….’

Controlling that absurd amount of internal energy, one by one, was an unbelievable sight. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“Kkeu…heueu….”

His body, damp with sweat and mixed with blood. His face was flushed with veins showing from the sheer pain, yet Gu Yangcheon controlled it without moving an inch.

Watching the gradually stabilizing energy, Dangcheon Gi was speechless, as if he had seen a ghost.

After about half an hour passed like that…

“Hoo…hoooo….”

Gu Yangcheon exhaled, as if his internal energy had somewhat calmed down. His whole body trembled, proving how exhausted he was.

And Dangcheon Gi, who had been watching, could finally exhale sharply too.

‘He actually managed to do it.’

He really pulled it off. He didn’t know the principle behind it, but thankfully, the rampage seemed to have stopped.

Dangcheon Gi spoke to the trembling Gu Yangcheon.

“…What happened here? Why did this suddenly occur….”

He approached cautiously and asked. Then…

“……Ah…my arm.”

Gu Yangcheon whispered in a very small voice.

“What was that?”

He couldn’t hear clearly, so Dangcheon Gi focused his senses and listened intently. Doing so, he could hear it clearly, albeit in a small voice.

“…Shibal….”

“…Huh?”

“You’re fucking strong. You son of a bitch.”

Gu Yangcheon suddenly spat out incomprehensible, harsh curses. Then…

Teolseok.

He collapsed, losing consciousness onto the pool of blood he had shed.

“…Huh?”

Dangcheon Gi was momentarily stunned by the sight, but…

“Young Master Gu…! Snap out of it!”

He immediately picked Gu Yangcheon up and ran out of the building. Although the precious aging room, built by the Tang Imperial Gate, was now a mess of blood, Dangcheon Gi didn’t care.

---

A forest near Sichuan.

It was a location somewhat far from the Murim Alliance branch.

The sun was setting, and it was gradually getting dark. It was probably time for the moon to rise soon.

During that time, two women were strolling through the forest.

Judging by their appearance, neither of them was ordinary. Both had unbelievably beautiful faces, and their attire, needless to say, was anything but ordinary.

One had golden hair that seemed to softly illuminate the darkening forest, and the other had silvery-white hair.

As they walked carefully through the surroundings…

The blonde woman, Wi Seol-ah, called out to the one beside her.

“Unni.”

“…Yeah?”

“Do you know the way here?”

To Wi Seol-ah’s question, Namgung Bi-ah shook her head.

“No.”

“….”

At Namgung Bi-ah’s confident response, Wi Seol-ah also nodded. She felt certain she wasn’t mistaken.

“We…seem to have gotten lost.”

“Yeah.”

“This isn’t the location written in the information, right?”

“…Yeah…?”

“…I’ll take another look.”

It seems I asked something pointless. Wi Seol-ah judged this and took out a letter from within. It was an item Gu Yangcheon had organized and given her. He had clearly instructed her to proceed with the investigation using this as a starting point.

“…”

Wi Seol-ah frowned as she examined the investigation sheet. Namgung Bi-ah asked, seeing Wi Seol-ah’s reaction.

“…Why…are you like that?”

“…It’s just.”

Wi Seol-ah bit her lip slightly and said to Namgung Bi-ah,

“…I don’t really understand it even after looking.”

“…”

Although she had tried to look confidently, she couldn’t understand it either. Wi Seol-ah scratched her cheek with a shy smile. Seeing that, Namgung Bi-ah stroked Wi Seol-ah’s hair.

“It’s okay…”

“…That’s right. It’ll work out somehow. Let’s do our best.”

“…Yeah…”

The problem was that these two were paired up in the first place. They should have assigned at least one person who knew how to get things done. Since they were just thrown together without considering that, how could anything get done?

Although that was quite dissatisfying, Wi Seol-ah and Namgung Bi-ah didn’t complain. Because they knew why Gu Yangcheon had paired them together.

“…Anyway…”

Wi Seol-ah whispered softly, and Namgung Bi-ah nodded slightly. He had a subtly deep possessiveness. He probably didn’t like her hanging around other men. It was quite a cowardly act, but she decided to just ignore it.

Wi Seol-ah, who had been examining the investigation sheet diligently, suddenly looked at the sky and said,

“It’ll be night soon. Should we head back for now?”

“…Yeah.”

There was an order to return when the sun set. Since the moon was already faintly rising, it was time to return. However…

“…Where should we go?”

“…”

The fact that they were both lost. Of course, since it was a nearby mountain anyway, if the two of them decided to search… No, even if Namgung Bi-ah couldn’t, Wi Seol-ah could easily find it if she just made up her mind. Also, besides that, Wi Seol-ah knew one fastest method.

“Unni.”

“Yeah.”

“Which way do you think is the right path?”

Wi Seol-ah asked Namgung Bi-ah. Namgung Bi-ah thought carefully and pointed in one direction.

“…That way.”

“Okay. Let’s go.”

Wi Seol-ah looked in the direction and grabbed Namgung Bi-ah’s wrist as she walked. It was the opposite direction of where Namgung Bi-ah had pointed. Namgung Bi-ah wore a subtly displeased expression at Wi Seol-ah’s action, but this was the best course of action. There was no surer method than this.

“Unni, you found the way using this method last time too.”

She had found the way using this same method during a similar situation last time. Its effectiveness was certain. So, believing it would be the same this time, she started walking.

The forest night quickly obscures vision as one steps forward, but neither of them was at a level where they feared the darkness. Moreover, Wi Seol-ah’s eyes could find light even in the darkness, making finding the way relatively easy.

As the two walked for a short while like that…

“…”

“…”

They suddenly stopped walking simultaneously and narrowed their eyes. And as if they had coordinated beforehand, they met each other’s gaze.

-Unni.

It was Wi Seol-ah’s telepathic message.

-Do you feel something?

-Yeah.

After exchanging telepathic messages, Wi Seol-ah nodded. Judging by Namgung Bi-ah’s reaction and her own feelings, there was something ahead.

Instantly, Namgung Bi-ah kicked off the ground and leaped. The moment she took flight, Namgung Bi-ah’s presence vanished from the world. It was outstanding stealth technique.

Namgung Bi-ah, floating in mid-air, looked down at the forest.

-Seueu…

“…”

“…”

Namgung Bi-ah covered her nose as if displeased. It was certain. There was something ahead.

Immediately after, she dropped straight to the ground. Namgung Bi-ah looked at Wi Seol-ah, who was waiting. Wi Seol-ah had already drawn her sword and assumed a ready stance.

-Shall we proceed?

Namgung Bi-ah shook her head.

-…No, if you find something…he told us to return immediately.

-But it looks like some kind of formation… If we don’t check it now, it might disappear later, you know.

-No.

Namgung Bi-ah was firm. His words were more important than anything else. Just a few months ago, she had already been severely scolded for taking the entrance exam for the Murim Alliance. She had decided she needed to obey him for the time being. That way, she could get away with major mistakes in the future.

“…”

Wi Seol-ah pouted at Namgung Bi-ah’s attitude, but ultimately put her sword away, signaling her agreement. Since they confirmed something was there, they would return for now. Just as the two were about to move with that intention…

[…isn’t it…]

The voices heard from a distance made the two hold their breath. They also heightened their senses.

[Sect Leader-nim. Ilcheonggeom’s actions seem a bit strange. The fact that contact has suddenly become difficult is also…]

[Did Director Mok say anything separately?]

[Yes. He reported no particular signs, but…]

[It seems you can’t trust the report.]

[That’s right…]

[Tsk tsk…It doesn’t matter. They are all people who will be eliminated anyway.]

[However…]

[It seems Star King is a concern. But don’t mind that either. I have a plan…]

Tuk.

The conversation that had been heard briefly suddenly cut off. Judging by the fact that the presence also disappeared, it seemed there was indeed something ahead. Hearing that, Wi Seol-ah turned her head and looked at Namgung Bi-ah.

“Unni…shouldn’t we go in…Huh?”

She was about to ask if they shouldn’t go in, but Namgung Bi-ah, who should have been where she was looking, was gone. Wi Seol-ah looked ahead, thinking ‘no way’, but…

“…”

Namgung Bi-ah had already drawn her sword and was rushing forward.